You've been gone too long

Lana sat alone at a desk in the main hall, intently reading letters from her various scouts. A raven sat perched nearby, the latest carrier of news from the borders. The sightings of the darkspawn had become erratic, limited. It made no sense. They'd not killed the archdemon, but if it was no longer in Ferelden... where could it have gone?

The whole concept was giving her a headache, and she started to rub her temples after setting the last letter down. A few moments and a sigh, she was reaching for new parchments. She'd pull back her scouts, let them rest and maybe find volunteers to spread out further - beyond Ferelden. Seek what was abroad where the darkspawn were concerned.

A familiar voice echoed through the keep. Lana froze. Familiar though it may be, it was not a voice she expected to hear ever again. Suspicions roused, she set everything down and shifted into a cat. Disappearing to the shadows, she darted through the familiar halls and to the voice she once knew all too well.

But, it was not as she expected. Some spirit, some trick or trap that'd slipped through their defenses. But no. Could it be? The passed out witch in his arms certainly pointed to yes.

Shifting back to herself and stepping out from the shadows, she spoke. How can this be? Are my eyes deceived by some trick? Her gaze narrowed, still a distance away. Still wary it was not as it appeared. Though she could feel no magic presently at work, it did not mean a mage of more power than her could keep its weave of deceit hidden.